Despite a lengthy carriage dispute with YouTube TV that kept TelevisaUnivision networks off of the platform for two months, the company’s sports properties finished tops in the United States among Spanish-language networks.
According to a report by Austin Karp in Sports Business Journal, TelevisaUnivision will finish 2025 as the most-watched Spanish-language network for sports programming in the country, with much of its success focused on soccer. Per Karp, 71% of all primetime soccer viewing in the United States was watched on TelevisaUnivision networks, as was 50% of soccer viewing during the daytime hours. Overall, Univision and TUDN aired six of the 10 most-watched soccer matches in the U.S. this year, regardless of language.
Liga MX unsurprisingly carried the day. Viewership was up 12% year-over-year for the Mexican club soccer league, accounting for seven of the 10 best club soccer audiences of the year. A spring match between Toluca and Club América averaged 2 million viewers, the best for a club soccer match across all networks.
The largest soccer audience overall for TelvisaUnivision was the CONCACAF Gold Cup final between the USMNT and Mexico, which averaged 3.8 million viewers.
Outside of soccer, TelevisaUnivision saw some growth on the baseball front. Per Karp, Univision and TUDN drew 870,000 viewers for Game 1 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. And somehow, “70% of TelevisaUnivision’s audience for MLB postseason games were new to the sport on the network this season.”
Spanish-language sports broadcasts are perhaps under-covered when it comes to the overall American media landscape, especially when it comes to soccer viewership. But a growing Latin American population in the country bodes well for the future of these sports properties in the U.S.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.